What is Color?

Color Design Issues:

 Color Scheme  Complimentary Colors  Context
By: Dave Melsness  Color Printing  Color and Figure/Ground

Color Use in Cartography Hue:

RGB Color CMYK Color Color is our most important graphic
Wavelength of Light Emitted by a Color
Model Model variable. How it is used can sway thinking,
change actions and cause reactions. Physi-
cally, it can sooth or irritate ones eyes,
raise blood pressure, and suppress ones Value:
appetite. Amount of Black Contained in a Color
How cartographers use color can
help or hinder the messages, or themes of
their maps. For example, if a cartographer Low High
were to make a map of local businesses
Chroma:
RGB Colors are additive The CMYK colors are
colors, the model above subtractive colors. The Amount of White Contained in a Color
that are increasing their environmental
demonstrates how the model above demonstrates
three primary colors of how the use of cyan, awareness, or “going green,” would it not
red, green, and blue can be magenta, yellow, and the make sense to use more greens throughout
combined to create various “key” black are combined in the map than reds? Or how about making a Low High
other hues of the color the printing process to
spectrum. These are the create various other hues in politically themed map of the last U.S. Warm and Cool Color Spectrum
colors we see in projected, the color spectrum. These election, would it not be more appropriate

Cool Warm
visible light. are the colors commonly to use red, white, and blue than orange,
used in printing.
yellow, and pink? Through examples like
these color can help or hinder an
White Light is Dispursed by a Prism into the overall message of a map or graphic.
Colors of the Optical Spectrum

Color
Wavelength patterns
Color and physical
Wavelength colors, as specifications
represented in this prism figure of colors are determined
derived from the spectrum of by the object, material,
light, or the distribution of light light source, etc. perceived to have
energy versus wavelength, and color. The color it takes is based on its
how they interact in the eye physical properties of light absorption,
with the spectral sensitivi- reflection, or emission spectra. Color we see
ties of light receptors. comes from the visual range of the
(Continued on other electromagnetic radiation in the visible range,
Side) commonly referred to as light.